Ted O’Connor, Oakwood Rotary volunteer, helping keep the Wright Library open late Monday night, Sept. 22 when a lot of people still didn’t have power. Ted worked at the AV department desk. Several students and families took advantage of the extended hours.

Giving names to faces

I am writing to put names to the faces of the boys pictured in the Oakwood Register last week cleaning up the hurricane debris (under the headline ‘Outstanding Young Men’). As the mother of one of them, I am understandably proud — but all the credit goes to the boys. They were out there at the height of the wind storm, clearing roadways, driveways and yards, so people could get through. Pictured in the paper were Josh Hootman, Michael Engel, Casey Linzmeier, and Duncan Peterson. Also helping (his hands are actually in the photo if you look hard!) was Jacob Hootman. I’ve known all these young men for years (especially Michael Engel!) and they make me very optimistic about the leaders of tomorrow. No one had to insist that they help. They just did it. In fact, when the “mom” in me took over and I warned my son that it could be dangerous to be out in the storm he gave me a look of exasperation and said “Mom, I’m a Boy Scout! I’ve got to do this!” Boy Scout or not, all the boys gave 110 percent and deserve a pat on the back. In an age when you sometimes wonder if kids do anything but text each other or play digital games, it really is heartening to see that the “pitch in” spirit that made this country great is very much alive and well in our young people.

Thanks boys. It’s good to know that young people can be an inspiration to us “old folks.”

Regarding the 2007 no, excuse me, 2008 election (the campaign started when?)... The media, and indeed the general public, all seem overly preoccupied with the words flowing from our Presidential candidates.

How do we establish a candidate’s credibility? How do we decide who to favor with our vote? By the never-ending parade of speeches? I say we owe it to ourselves to look past the rhetoric - what have they supported in the past? Let’s pick just a couple examples…

When one says he will cut our taxes, check it out - find out if he has ever supported lower taxes in the past. If he hasn’t, what reason do we have - rhetoric notwithstanding - to think he would do so as President?

When one says he will be strong on defense, we should check - has he supported national defense in the past? If he hasn’t...why believe him now? And so on for all the other compelling issues of the day - health care, the economy, immigration, gun ownership.

Although it seems obvious to me, it also seems like many people have forgotten... ”talk is cheap,” especially during a political campaign.

If a candidate hasn’t “walked his talk” in the past, then we would be fools to think he will do so if elected to office.

Ted Reinhart
Kent, WA

Free Kittens

I’d like to thank the person who left the cardboard box in our driveway just behind my car last Friday morning. Imagine my horror when after hearing a crunch under my tires I discovered a rumpled box labeled “Free Kittens. Please love them.”

After running to find my husband to look in the box for me - I could not bring myself to see if I had actually killed a kitten - we were relieved to find the box empty. Later we discovered two extremely frightened kittens hiding out in our garage . It took us until Sunday morning to convince them we would not hurt them, to finally catch them, to feed them and give them a warm place to sleep.

Now we have two darling, playful and amazingly trusting kittens living in our garage. Since we have three cats in residence two more are out of the question. If anyone can offer them a good home, please call us at 239-1253.

Debra Edwards

Palin in comparison

I am just so, like totally, like, so pleased. That grumpy old hot head, Johnny McCain, has realized he won’t ever become an admiral and has closed his eyes and pointed and just picked the absolute, totally, bestest, way coolest girl in the wide world to be President if he loses the keys to one of his thirteen cars in one of his eight houses and can’t go to work. Sara is just so totally cool. She could be in High School Musical Part VII (that’s part seven in English, I just hate intellectuals that use any dumb language like Latin. I’d like to know just where those “other” languages come from). She’d be a star!

But that’s not why I love Sara so, so much! She lives close to Russia and knows what’s what because she can see it. Do you realize what this means? I live close to Wright Patterson Air Force Base; I can just walk over and fly F-16’s next week and then F-35’s after that. Whooeee! And I live close to NCR so it will be just like ice cream and pie to become an executive and go live the high life in New York City.

Yippeee! Sara’s world is so totally cool that I know if I just get close to someplace, anyplace I want, I can be anything. Except a witch, I haven’t had the holy hands of the Rapture Fighter’s on my head yet, so I’m not totally safe.

And as long as I don’t go near a dictionary, I won’t have to use big words or talk to any subversive traitors to Sara’s Personal God Almighty of the Conservative States of Sara’s America, like ya know? She like so owns God. And, and, and now I totally don’t have to go to school, learn about yucky science factiness, or bother with the drag of understanding budgets (let’s go shopping!), or that stupid law thingy, the Constitution. Ya just don’t need laws or anything with Sara, do ya now?

Lee Kellogg

RE: Presidential race response

Dear Richard Biggs,

You stated in your letter to the editor (Sept. 16 issue) of the Oakwood Register that you “have been unemployed for six months and struggling to afford even the basic of necessities” and then go on to say “ but at least under Bush I still had a job. “ The last time I checked, George Bush was still president of this country. Your unemployment status is hardly the fault of Democrats when this country has been driven to economic ruin due to its lack of regulation of mortgage giants and a war based on lies.

It is clear you are a life-long Republican who will blame the Democrats for mistakes your chosen party made, the Republican party. And if you choose, which I’m sure you will, to vote for McCain, whose presidency will be as you said “another Bush term,” and you will be out of a job for four more years.

I suggest you visit Barack Obama’s website and get your facts straight about his economic plan and make an informed decision as every voter should. I wonder if you consider the middle class the same as McCain does? To McCain, one is finally upper class when one makes $5 million a year. Obama wants to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, which benefit the richest voters. Is this your fear? That your Bush tax cuts will expire and that you will no longer be able to afford the gas for your Land Rover? McCain will do and say anything, including selling his soul, to be president.

Alex Jones

Campaign sign civil war

I am new to Ohio and Oakwood, having retired here in ’07. Prior to moving to Oakwood I lived in southern California for 55 years. Last Saturday I walked out my front door to see a car stop in front of my neighbor’s home. A man jumped out and grabbed their McCain campaign sign. I yelled and ran towards him, but he quickly got in his car and they sped off. Now, If he wanted a McCain sign for his own yard he
would have asked me (I have and extra sign). In addition, I have noticed that almost all homes with a McCain sign also a display a U.S. flag. None of the houses with opposing signs do likewise (I also have an extra flag). What I have observed would not be uncommon in southern California, but Ohio? Has an Obama sign ever been taken? And if not, for what reason?

Tom Schmitz, USMC
1304 Shafor Blvd.

Editor’s Note: Yes, we have received reports of people taking both Obama and McCain signs off peoples’ lawns. As to the U.S. flags displayed along with McCain signs, it shows that Obama supporters are less patriotic than McCain supporters. . . Not.